Tuesday, November 30, 2010

There are endless delicious stories that come out of France. This week, a trove of 271 uncatalogued works by Picasso turned up in the hands of this man, 71 year old retiree Pierre le Guennec, on the French Riviera. He is an electrician and worked in Picasso's home from 1970-1973, and he said "the Master and his wife gave them to me, in a trash bag." Hmmm. Picasso's family is not so sure of that, and has sued the electrician for theft. Another Picasso story, cloaked in Mystery!

Most of the pieces found are on paper~ studies, lithos, collages, and the like; no paintings. Picasso was prolific, constantly creating in so many media, and it was not uncommon for artists to pay workers or meals in artwork, though for sure Picasso is not just "another artist." I love his ceramic pieces, but none of those were in the trash bag. Several notebooks were found in Pierre's collection. A Picasso notebook was once stolen from the Picasso Museum in Paris, valued at $7MM~

Do you like Picasso's works? I do! Don't miss the Picasso Museum in Paris; housed in the fantastic Hotel Sale, it is a wonderful setting for a museum and for Picasso in particular; it is closed now until some time in 2012. One of my favorites is this portrait of mistress & muse Dora Maar~

Several years ago a woman in Florida bought a painting signed Picasso at her neighbors garage sale for $2. Turned out it was original, but stolen. There are stories of an original Jackson Pollack painting bought for $5 at a thrift store and an original Declaration of Independence bought for $2.48 at another thrift; can you imagine?

I also love Picasso's grand format works, like the Demoiselles d'Avignon; this is in the MOMA in New York, and a spectacular piece to see in person~

I'm going to follow this new Picasso story with great interest. If you could find similar works for $2 at a thrift store or garage sale, which one would you hope to find....or maybe you have already had the good luck to find a great piece??

Monday, November 29, 2010

I love giveaways, and I love Fifi Flowers paintings. So we are hosting a giveaway of Fifi's Holiday Basket, filled with lovelies like Sofia Champagne~~

And a few early Christmas ornament snags from Rogers Gardens in Corona del Mar; Santa bound for Paris; the ladies were hot after these on opening day~

detail of the back~the basket includes a Fifi 2011 Paris calender that you will LOVE; you can see all the pages on Fifi's Etsy site~

And as I mentioned, the de rigeur bubbles; my friend T takes these to the movies with her~

I love my Fifi Chic Shopper painting~The original photo~Fifi is Fantastic! If you are not already a follower, I hope you will discover her wit and her works. She never disappoints and provides us with a dash of color~ bonne chance a tous pour le Giveaway!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

It's started, the holiday rush is on. I hope to pick up a little bit of the ease and laughter of this little tyke as December unfolds; I could have scooped him up and given him a hug today, he was such a cute & happy kid~

And what's that on his back, an Orangutan? "No," he said, "It's Chewbacca!!"This made me laugh, one because he was so confident & happy with this large Chewie on his back, and two because it is one of my pet names for Honey and her hairy little dog face and the same black button nose~So, back to topic, I am not feeling the stress this season, at least not yet. It was hard to be stressed today, surrounded by many pretty flower arrangements that Allison aka Magnolia had created~

She glue gunned succulents onto her large wreaths; she insists they will last for the season~Pretty & unusual tones of tulips~And clouds of snow-white hydrangeas~In my own booth, I had tons of baskets and also Metis items, the gift cards in sets of six for $7.50 selling well~

and I filled the vintage grain buckets with poinsettia from Hector of Corona del Mar market~I loved the tartan bows; I will show these at the National Charity League holiday boutique tomorrow at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. We will be at the Cargo & Company holiday event on Thursday, not to be missed; and Sunday at Rancho Santa Fe Holiday market.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Last year I had most of my Christmas decor formulated before Thanksgiving, because we had the Romantic Homes Shoot in mid-December. This year, I am taking the holidays one at a time. As the 12 grandkids grow up, it seems the activity of the small children in the family is being replaced by our dogs, all ages, but mostly under 15 months~ Honey was decked out in cranberry velvet & jingle bells this weekend~

I made a jingle bell collar for each dog for Thanksgiving dinner, to go into Christmas, including Miss Biscuit~ Isabella is one of the more senior dogs at 4 years old; I thought of her first for the bell collars as Italian Greyhounds sport them in old paintings so often~I whipped up the Thanksgiving decor the day-of and didn't get to enjoy it, really, though Sis is still loving the florals and especially the nuts & citrus I brought~

But move on I will. I went to a garden shop yesterday with lots of branches and things covered in glitter & plastic crystals. Made in China. I came home and went through the cupboards to replicate them with something natural. I will do a tutorial this week, but my holiday table will include natural items brushed with Modge Podge and dusted in sugar, two kinds of course salt, and glass glitter~add in a little moss; I sampled a few branches and pine cones I found in the garden~and coated some clear glass candles; these are my fav's and I can think of other stuff in the garden that I will coat with the sugar and fine glitter....Tutorial and info this week. Tomorrow I am back to Rancho Santa Fe Farmers market.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

It's a very sad story all the way around. Meet 88 year old Roy Charles Laird, who shot and killed Clara, his 86 year old wife of almost 70 years this week. She suffered from severe dementia, and was recently moved to a 24 hour care facility.

A nurse I know who cared for them said they were the sweetest couple together. Instead of spending Thanksgiving with his wife and daughter, who said it was a "mercy killing," Roy is sitting in jail on $1MM bail, waiting for his arraignment on November 30th.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I gather my thoughts, and think of sitting down for a wonderful meal in a pretty setting such as this (I wish!)~

I thank God for my health,

my youth,

and each day I have

on this good Earth,

as well as a long list of other wonderful things....

and I wonder:

Is there anyone elderly, alone or infirm

who would love to be remembered

or have some assistance this holiday?

Is there any extra room

around your Thanksgiving table?

I have invited my friend N to join us. She's 75, positively delightful and positively delighted to have the invite. She lives alone and isn't in great health. She will bring her Yorkie and a Rum Cake too.

We are going to the dogs this Thanksgiving. Honey, Biscuit (baby shot above), Isabella, Lola and Chelsea-Ann + others will be there. I'm sure we will count on a little Chaos as well.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

More rain has afforded me a day off. Or is it? There is always so much to do. I did get to the market yesterday though, to see what I could find for Thanksgiving flowers.

I love using pine boughs. Arrangements that would look "spring-y" any other time of year suddenly look like Holiday when paired with pine~

I found lots of green and white, and tucked in some purple lilies~A few pears went along well too; put them on bamboo skewers and tuck them in~and the beautiful tuberose fill the room with clean white fragrance~ there are Stargazers too though they are no open yet; they will be perfect by Thursday...Since we are going to my sister's house Thursday, I think I will divide this group up into our table flowers. Until Thursday though, we will just enjoy them in the dining room.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Joni from Cote de Texas has a very interesting post today. I spied the painting she showed in a recent post on David Easton, and loved it. 19C slightly mannerist. Her post is wonderful and tells the whole story; original in the Danish museum~Photo: Cote de Texas.

This got me to thinking, and reminiscing. My favorite homme nu? I think I'd have to pick this one in the Louvre~Hippolyte Flandrin. 1836. Homme Nu Assis au Bord du la Mer. Formerly of the collection of Napoleon III. Serene and beautiful.

In the Louvre, if you go on off days and off hours, you will see painters making reproductions. they are there under the auspices of the museum and they pay the museum to be there. One of the most popular, during my time, was this; Gilles aka Pierrot; Watteau circa 1718; seemed like this was endlessly copied and copied well~If you could have any one painting reproduced, anywhere in the world, what would it be? I walked the grand halls of the Louvre and often asked myself this question. My choice would be these two Renaissance gents~ 15-16th C. This photo does not do them justice. This is the problem, can the reproduction ever ever capture the original? Yes, No, not really....One of my favorite pieces is this one, by Fifi Flowers. To have a Fifi Original is a gift. It is one of my most treasured pieces of art~Real, faux, children's art or oils, it's all fine as long as it speaks to you.

I have some reproduction pieces like this one; original is in Chateau de Fontainbleu. I love it as much as a "real" painting.I have a weakness for portraits so that's what I love to see...Photographs are always great; this one of me (r) and sis(l) is in sepia in my office.What do you prefer, original or reproduction? If you could have just one piece reproduced from a a museum, what would it be?

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I import classic French baskets & totes from former colonies Madagascar and Morocco. Though I live in Southern California, I spend part of my year in Burgundy and visit the south. I lived in Paris for several years while I completed the three year course in art history at the Ecole du Louvre. I am passionate about my baskets and their construction, color, art, design and bringing a little bit of the French lifestyle to the United States.